How to Brew Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans for the Best Taste? The Right Brewing Methods for Light and Dark Roast Coffee Beans

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

Coffee beans cannot be eaten directly. They need to be ground and then extracted through various equipment (different coffee makers) before consumption.

If you don't have the necessary equipment at home, it's actually quite troublesome. You need to buy a coffee grinder (there are manual ones, but their effectiveness is rather poor and they're more for romantic gestures), then you need a coffee maker (if you must use one, a siphon or moka pot would be best), and generally these come with corresponding alcohol burners. In summary, your situation is quite similar to this: you have vinegar at home but want to eat crabs, so you first need to withdraw money, then drive to the market, then make your selection... and so on.

How to Eat Roasted Coffee Beans

Perhaps many people haven't truly understood how roasted coffee beans can be consumed. Coffee beans are the raw material for making coffee. Many people may only drink coffee in coffee shops and have never actually made it themselves. Below, I'll introduce you to new ways to consume coffee beans and how to select good roasted coffee beans. Let's explore together!

How to Brew Delicious and Aromatic Coffee

To brew a delicious and aromatic cup of coffee, several factors must work together:

Coffee Beans

To brew a fragrant cup of coffee yourself, besides brewing techniques, the most important thing is selecting high-quality coffee beans. When purchasing, pay attention to whether the bean color and particle size are uniform. Good coffee beans not only have a lustrous appearance but also possess a rich aroma without any mixed off-odors.

Grind Degree

The correct grind should be based on the coffee machine being used. Grinding can generally be divided into three stages: coarse grind, medium grind, and fine grind.

Coarse ground coffee is suitable for drip coffee makers (traditional American brewers). Medium ground coffee is suitable for drip, flannel filter, and siphon coffee makers. Fine grind is most suitable for coffee percolators (also known as water-drip coffee makers). It's worth noting that the shorter the brewing time, the finer the grind particles should be. This is because smaller particles have a larger surface area in contact with hot water, so the brewing time should be shorter. Additionally, overly fine grinding will make coffee more bitter and can easily clog the coffee machine; too coarse grinding will result in coffee with less flavor.

Fresh, Temperature-Appropriate Water

97% of coffee is water, so only good quality water can bring out the original aroma and richness of coffee. It's best to use filtered water to brew coffee. Do not boil coffee, as boiling water will make coffee bitter. Also note that the water temperature should be slightly below 96°C.

Coffee is best not reheated. When brewing, be careful to brew only the amount needed each time, and it's best to drink it immediately after brewing. The optimal drinking temperature for coffee is 85°C.

How to Select Coffee Beans?

Choose fresh coffee beans. When purchasing, pay attention to whether the bean color and particle size are consistent. Good coffee beans have a fresh, lustrous appearance and possess a rich aroma without any mixed off-odors. Regardless of the type of coffee bean, freshness is an important factor affecting quality.

When selecting, take one or two coffee beans and chew them in your mouth. They should be crisp (indicating the coffee hasn't been dampened by moisture) and leave a fragrant aftertaste for a premium quality. However, it's better to pinch them with your fingers to feel if they are solid, rather than buying hollow-shelled coffee. If the coffee beans have lost their fragrance or smell stale, it indicates they are no longer fresh and not suitable for purchase.

Can Coffee Beans Be Eaten?

Freshly roasted coffee beans are not suitable for immediate consumption. They should be stored for about a week to allow the gases inside the beans to be completely released.

Generally, the optimal drinking period for coffee is about a week after roasting. At this time, the coffee beans are freshest, and the aroma and flavor performance are at their best.

Additionally, the purity of coffee beans is another consideration factor. Experts selecting coffee don't necessarily look at particle size but rather grab a handful of single-origin coffee beans, about dozens at a time, to check if each bean's color is consistent, and whether the particle size and shape are similar, to avoid buying inferior products disguised as mixed beans.

However, if it's a blend, different sizes and colors are normal. Additionally, heavy roast and medium-dark roasting methods will cause coffee beans to develop oils. But if lighter roasted beans show oil, it indicates they have deteriorated, not only reducing aromatic richness but also developing astringent and sour flavors.

In summary, when selecting coffee, pay attention to its freshness, aroma, and whether there are any stale odors. The ideal purchase quantity should be enough to consume within half a month.

Roasted Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted Arabica roasted coffee beans have full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high value for money. Each pack is 227 grams and costs only about 70-90 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams of coffee beans per cup, one pack can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 5-6 yuan. Compared to coffee shop prices that often reach dozens of yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473